When it comes to Chinese, you do not find many loanwords. The structure of the language allows it to stay unique and many international words sound completely different. Take a word ‘bank’ as an example.

Here is the list of Chinese cartoons I recommend to watch to improve your listening skills and get to know the culture more. As aforeigner, you might have never heard of them before, but they are loved by 80’s and 90’s kids. Perfect for the elementary/pre-intermediate/low intermediate levels (imho).

1. Set a schedule. Think of how much time per day you can dedicate to studying Chinese characters. Find the time for the review. For example, you want to study 5 Chinese characters per day. That means, you shall get enough free time for learning new characters, plus reviewing the ones you have already learned.